Street-cleaning machine.



P. B. DIGKASON.

STREET CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.12, 1908.,

Patented May 25,. 1909.

" charge spout UNTED STAEHS nrn STREET-LENING MACHINE.

Application led November 12, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatl., FRANK B. DrcKAsoN, citizen of the VUnited States,residing at Shreveport, in the parish of Caddo and State of Louisiana,have invented new and useful improvements in Street-Cleaning Machines,of which the following is a specitication.

My invention relates to street cleaning inachines of the type in which.dirt and ref-use are taken from thestreet by suction; and itcontemplates the provision of a street cleaning machine of said type,which while simple and inexpensive in construction, is possessed of highefliciency and is adapted to be controlled by the driver with but aminimum amount of effort.

Other objects and advantageous features of the invention will beunderstood from the following description and claims when the same areread in connection with the drawings, accompanying and forming part ofthis specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the street cleaning machineconstituting the best practical enibodinient of my invention of which lam cognizant. Fig. 2 is a broken rear elevation of the machine as thesame appears with the centrifugal separator and the rear bolsteromitted. Fig. 3 is a detail view illustrative of the manner in which thebrush and the suction head of the machine are raised in accordance withmy invention. Fig. 4 is a detail plan view showing the suction-head andcertain a}') purtenances thereof. Fig. 5 is a similar view ofthe brush.Fig. 6 is a detail plan view illustrating` the tangential arrangement ofthe induction orifice ofthe eentrifugal separator comprised in thepreferred embodiment of my invention.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of thedrawings, referring to which:

A is the wheel-supported frame of the machine, which is preferably ofthe form and construction illustrated, though it might be of any othersuitable form and construction without involving departure from thescope of my claimed invention. The said frame A is equipped with adrivei"s seat B and a inotor l, preferably an iiiiternal-combustionengine as shown 3 and on its rear portion is suitably arranged andsecured a rcntriiugal sep'- a'ra'tor i"-ei. e., an r ir rjht receptaclehaving a contracted. oiieningj; i its top -and a disb at its lo ver end,and also hava tangentially disposed induction oriice Specification ofLetters Patent.

lfixed a hand lever Q.

Patented ivray 25, 1909.

serial Nb. 462,270.

adjacent its upper end, with which eominunicates the discharge conduit cof theA suction device E, whichlatter is located on the main framebetween the motor and the centrifugal separator. .lt will be noted herethat the dust drawn from the street will be discharged into theseparator D in such manner that the momentum of the dust carries itaround near the wallof the separator, and permits it to fall, this beingdesirable inasmuch as it obviates the objectionable dissemination ofdust in the atmosphere during the operation of the machine.

The suction device E is preferably of the ordinary well known type inthat it cornprises a casing d, and a shaft e, vjournaled in suitablebearings, and equipped, within 'the casing, with. a suitable fan, andprovided outside the casing with a-band pulley f, the latter for theheliI g connecting the motor (,l and the suction device. ln addition tothe discharge conduit c the casing d is provided with two (more or less)intake conduits h and. t, Fig. 2, which extend from one side of thecasing to and through the main frame A, as best shown in Fig.' 2.

Connected to and depending from the lower ends of the conduits t and i.are flexible conduit sections F, .preferably of hose, and connected toand communicating with said sections F is the suction head which ispreferably formed in one section, as shown.

The said suction head is preferably of metal and is provided. in itslower side with a mouth j which preferably, though not npcessarily,extends throughout its length. The suction head is also provided withfront and' rear shoes 7." and l, of iron or other suitable material,designed to carry the head at 'the proper distance above the surface ofthe street. .Willen either section lof the headfis clogged, it can becleaned from the rear when the section is raised as in Fig. 3.

In addition to theA features named, the suction head G is provided withan arm l, strengthened by braces Vl and equipped with separatedanti-friction rollers K. The said arm is for the engagement of a lever Lwhich. is fulcrumed at p on A and has its lower arm disposed between.the anti-friction rollers K, and its upper arm connected through a rod.M with a pedal. lever N. The said lever N is fixed on a shaft P,liournaled in suitable bearings carried by and on said shaft P is alsothe main frame, Thus it will be man1- the main frame the. beforevdescribed suction means.

sald brush S may be of any construction con- R R are suitably-bracedhangers, fixed toI the frame A at points in front of the suction head G,and S is a brush which has for its office to break up and loosen cakesor masses of dirt and refuse and in that Way facilitate the 'removal ofthe same from the street by The sonant with the purpose of my inventionwithout involving departure from the spirit thereof, though I prefer tohave it comprise a body bar r, hinged at s to the hangers R,

` and teeth yt, of steel, connected to and dechine, the motor pendingfrom the body bar and having coils adjacent the body bar, whereby theirspringiness is increased. From the middle of the body bar 1' an arm lulextends forwardly, which arm is strengthened by braces o. and is desined for the connectionof cable T. The said cable T extends upwardly andover a sheave U carried by the main frame, and

' is connected to a rod V which, in turn is connected to a pedal leverW, loosely mounted on the shaft P. Thus it will be manifest that thedriver is enabled b pressing forwardly on the -lever W to quic ly raisethe brush S to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3 so as toenable the brush to clear any obstruction thatmay be in its path.

With a view of preventing the imposition of undue strain on the ilexi)le conduit sections F, I employ the hanger chains orcables X,interposed between the main frame and the suction head G, asibest shownin In the practical o eration of my novel mais started,and the mavchineis drawn or otherwise moved forwardly in thestreet to be cleaned.Incidental to the said movin of the machine, it will be.`

observed that t e teeth of thebrush S will loosen and break the dirt andrefuse, whereupon the same will be drawn through the head G and conduitsF, h and 'i into the casing of the suction device Efrorn which it willbe discharged through the conduit c to the se arator D. From'the saidseparator D t e dirt, dust and refuse will pass through the spout b intoa receptacle arranged to receive it; and inI this connection I would saythat I have not illustrated a device placed to receive the dirt, etc.,from the spout b of the separator D for the reason that a device of anycharacter may be employed without in volving ydeparture from my claimedinvention. As before stated, the tangential discharge of the blast ofair and dirt into the separator D prevents or materially lessens 'theesca e of dust into the atmosphere, and from ythis it follows that theuse of the separator D in combination with the means for taking bysuction dirt and refuse from the street is highly advantageous. -'Whenduring theoperation of the machine it is necessar to raise either thesuction head G or the brus S the same may be expeditiously and easily 1claim and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is: l p

1. The combmatlon 1n a street cleaning machine, of a wheel-supportedmainframe, a

'suction head disposed below the frame and having a lateral armequipped"- with spaced anti-friction rollers, a lever fulcrumed at anintermediate point of its length on the frame and having its lower armcurved and dis'- posed between the said anti-friction rollers, and aflexible conduit connection intermediate the frame and the suction headandvsuspending the latter from the former.

2. The combination in a street cleaning machine, of a wheel-supportedmain frame, a nsuction head extending transversely below tl'e frame andhaving a mouth in its under side and also having a lateral-arm at it'smiddle, equi ped with spaced anti-friction rollers, and races Jextending from points adjacent its ends to the end of the said arm,flexible conduitsl extending between the frame and the suction headadjacent the ends the frame, and a lever fulcrumed at an intere mediatepoint of its length on the frame, in i osition to swing vertically,and'having itsower arm curved and disposed between the saidanti-friction rollers on the arm of the head.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

yFRANK B. DICKASON.

l Vllitnessers:

` J. B. SLATTERY,

R. A. SLATTERY.

